Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Elderberry Liqueur

I've been toying with the idea of making my own liqueurs again. I had some good success with steeping a bag of Good Earth's Tropical Peach Black Tea in a cup vodka for a about three hours and sweetening to taste with some stevia extract. It's just sweet enough, and nice enjoyed straight or as a part of a tea martini I have yet to attempt (I refuse to call it a "tea-tini." Have some dignity, people!). I therefor decided to make use of some of the frozen elderberries I picked last October. I sware I have twelve cups of the stuff and have yet to do anything with them. I found a simple and promissing recipe from Pattie Vargas and Rich Gulling's Cordials from Your Kitchen.

Elderberries, sugar, lemon, water, and vodka...that's it. Allow a month to mature and I should have my own wild elderberry liqueur!

I reduced the original recipe by two-thirds, to make a trial batch before committing more of these hard-to-find treasures of the mountain. ^_^

I'd like to note that this is not a place to use spendy vodka, I just used Smirnoff. Though I did go for the 100-proof stuff because I'd be watering the vodka down in the process of making the liqueur.

Crush the elderberries and sugar in a bowl and let sit one hour. Add lemon zest and juice, stir to combine. Transfer the elderberry mash into a clean, quart jar. Add the water and vodka. Age in a dark, cool place for one month, shaking once or twice a week.

Strain and filter the mixture, then transfer to a bottle. Age another month for best results.

4 comments:

Most excellent!!! Making Liqueurs gives you an intoxicating sense of accomplishment. ;) I am finishing off my Meyer Limoncello this evening and I cannot wait.I will have to send a link to my Dad, maybe he will forego the wine this year. Oh, and THANK YOU for not calling it a TEA-tini... Don't get me started on how James Bond flicks have banalized a classic cocktail into an insipid Vodka mixture instead of the rightful Gin, which then must be flavored a million different ways. Whew! Sorry, Just had to let that out... LOL

I am enjoying my first cocktail made with elderberry liqueur made from fruit gathered in the California hills. It's delicious. The elderberry is not as sweet and tastes more dignified than other berry concoctions that can be overpowering in a drink. I made mine with a rather pricey, clear pear eau-de-vie and it turned out great. Makes for fantastic gifts and well worth the time spent.